10/15/2022 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine:

Feinherb. 11.5% abv. AP 02. Aromatic at arm's length. A cataclysm of apricot, almond, tangerine, chamomile, and molten salt. Senses adjust and elucidate delicate threads, of lemon zest, basil, chalk, green strawberry, and mirabelle plum. A mouthful begins broadly glycerin, before a campaign of systemic acidity seizes control of the event. Sharpness closes from all sides, seeping from the pores of its mineral fabric, roasted and hissing. Some of this energy is a blur of action; some is fluid as glass block. Pull away to admire the composure. Blanched bedrock extract. Amusing bud break, mocking iron truffle. Brittle to chew (al dente.) Perfumed of savory, scrabbled earth. Needs time. Drink 2024-2034.
93+

1/30/2024 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Pretty and high-toned. Good freshness. Maybe not as “gutsy” as other vintages, but fine flair and bright acidity. Excellent with a roast chicken with salsa verde (the Tuscan kind) and a salad of arugula with a chicken fat and sherry vinaigrette. A useful wine for the table and at this stage that’s a virtue. I’ll look for a couple more bottles. Very good if not the ultimate in complexity.

3/2/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I think in my mind I have this picture or pictures of Chianti Classico, which are filtered through both village and producer. Monte Bernardi in Panzano is lifted and precise—nervy and taut with a pungent mineral core, that leads with elegant, pure fruit fanning out from the structure. Montesecondo in San Casciano boasts ripe red fruits and florals with deceptive structure lurking within and just enough iron and forest floor emerging from within to reveal the classic Chianti character that comes with time in the bottle. And perhaps one of my favorite expressions of Chianti Classico is the vibrant and wild Caparsa in Radda in Chianti. Especially the Caparsina Riserva, which far from exhibiting spoofiness or overt polish, seems to joyfully embrace its sauvage, wooded glen, bumptious nature. Does this display the wild/Morello cherry, forest floor, ferruginous/bloody character of Radda? Enthusiastically. But it also seems to dance to the wild song of Pan with abandon and seem assured in its lack of overt polish or worse: deracinated civility. Sure, this will shine with bistecca at a shiny trattoria, but perhaps this will be more confident on a rough-hewn farmhouse table with a ragu of freshly gathered wild mushrooms with polenta or grilled sausage fashioned from that pesky wild boar that has been devouring the precious grapes from the vines since veraison. And lest I relegate this to the rustic country cousin to so many more polished wines, one would be hard-pressed to find a more honest, forthright, soulful wine from the region. And based on prior vintages, it’s hard to imagine a contemporary Chianti that will blossom more with age, if one is patient to sock away a couple (or dozen) bottles. Re-buy? I question if the 12 bottle purchase was sufficient. Highly recommended.

11/24/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I like the wines of Giulia Negri a lot. Real finesse here and she’s charming in person. With that in mind, the 2020 Langhe Nebbiolo is a fun little bottle that fulfills its role as a wine for the pasta and the table. Save the Barolo for the brasato, enjoy the Dolcetto with salumi and carne cruda or vitello tonnato, and maybe savor your Barbera with tajarin and truffles or your maialie al latte. Rose, rose hip, and bruised violets on the nose with a faint stank of the barnyard in the background. Finely-etched structure framing the palate—nimble acidity, powdery tannins, and just enough reserve to make one lean in and listen. Red plum, high bush cranberry, apple skin, and wild raspberry fruit, dance across palate and while displaying ripeness also show fine aplomb and lift. This isn’t brooding nor is it some sort of flibbertigibbet, but sings joyfully while knowing some things. Probably would benefit from a bit more aging, but shows admirably with some air and a bowl of Amatriciana with some braised broccoli. Enough so, that I’m scouring the internet for more bottles. Re-buy? I’d re-watch that telenovela.

10/13/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Earthy dark cherry fruit on the nose. I got some volatile acid on the nose but it is modest. Surely also some new oak ? There are some barrique here but I don't know if any was new. Broad in the mouth. Juicy fruit. Ripe. Full of flavor - licorice and cherry. Bright acid. Grippy tannins still - fine grained but quite drying. I doubt they will ever really fully come around. I noticed the oak more as time went by - as I always do. A long decant and a steak would help.Holding up well.
Tannins better mannered the next day, which is encouraging. Loads of sediment. Suggest a very long decant.

9/27/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Oh, to be young and dumb and in love with Chambers Street Wines! Cyril Fahl’s wines were just sitting on the shelves waiting for someone to drink ‘em or in rare cases cellar them. I did both; I’m indiscriminate in love, it seems. The whites were textured, violet and honey-scented, and just a bit flamboyant—as Southern whites should be. The reds were exuberant and concentrated, if a bit inscrutable. The was structure beneath all the zazzy fruit and and Cistercian reserve lurking within the dry extract. And lo all these years later, there is a finely knit, if still wild character to the 2013 Clos du Rouge Gorge 2013 Jeunes Vignes. Bosky wild berry fruit, a woop woop (Insane Catalanes Posse?) of spicy plum skin, and vine smoke frame the nose with a hint of game and stank lurking in the background. This is ripe, but not extravagantly so. The midweight palate reiterates these sensory notes with more emphasis on the earth character—is it granite or is it schist? And things shade toward the mineral and herbaceous rather than overt fruit here. But there’s admirable length and not a little breadth and one wondered if the structure will outlast the fruit over time. As it stands, this is a punchy glass of of Côtes Catalans and pairs well with polenta and lamb neck ragu, though I imagine a bit of smoked brisket and BBQ beans from the ol’ Salt Lick in Dripping Springs might just shine here, as well. Re-buy? Well, not at the current tariff for this vintage. I still have some 2013 Ubac to get thru. Still, a treat to drink. Good job, 2014 me! Thanks for buying a couple bottles.

7/7/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I’ve made the observation that I’ve never had a bottle of Lafarge that’s “ready to drink” on many occasions in my wine career. And for the most part this has been true (same for Barthod if I’m being honest). For Kevin Smith fans I’ve compared it to the fat guy in “Mallrats” who can’t see what’s in the 3-D poster. And much like him (figuratively) I’ve brought my lunch and a soda and I’m still staring. Which brings me to this 2008 Beaune Grèves. On opening there is a fine strawberry lushness with and undercurrent of finely wrought stone and a touch of sous-bois fine aromas of roses too. Great energy and a lifted finish. Then 20 minutes it’s as if a steel gate shut. Roses are rose-hips, all that strawberry fruit beat it out of Dodge and everything is showing all pinched and inscrutable. And once again, I’m standing with my lunch staring in vain at a 3-D poster, not quite knowing what I’m looking at. First half hour was magnificent, tho.

TL/DR: Hold

6/30/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

From 3L BiB: fine tension savory character with pretty underlying red fruit and melon flavors. Racy, mouthwatering, good length. Fine ratio of freshness to satisfying depth. Glad the Bedrock team released Lulu in bag-in-box. Certainly has to decrease the carbon footprint. Re-buy? Well, I’ll confess to having bought a bunch and feel vindicated. Very good indeed.

6/5/2023 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Jadot often gets a bad rap for making workmanlike, foursquare wines relative to any number of domaines and a couple of their négociant peers. In my experience, this a only partially true: you drink em young and they will express their Jadotness over site more often that not. That said, they are perfectly satisfying if not quite “transparent.” However, if you show some (okay a lot of) patience they transcend Jadot and articulate terroir and vintage quite fluently. This is the case in this bottle of Jadot 1998 Les Boudots 1er. From the Vosne side of the village downslope from Damodes and adjacent to Malconsorts, this shows more spice and red fruit nuance than rough hewn Nuits St. Georges burliness. There is some of the tannic and acidic ‘98 edge here, but red fruit of the pomegranate, wild raspberry, and cranberry character dominate the nose and palate. Some game and a fine dusting over Asian spices add nuance. And astride a finely etched mineral core (for Nuits St Georges) are some blood orange peel and sous-bois flavors. I don’t get the sense that the fruit has been overtaken by the structure and there’s plenty of expressiveness left depending on just how resolved you prefer your Burgundy. This is showing admirably with a ragu of leftover short rib over polenta—okay grits. And given the chance, I’d purchase more well-stored bottles. This is really tasty in its way and very satisfying on a rather raw midcoast Maine evening. Re-buy? Wish I had. Last bottle a few years ago was marked by producer, this bottle is very much of a place (and vintage) and shines because of it.

6/5/2023 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine:

Classically proportioned and soulful. Morello cherry liqueur meets a fine cigar. Animated, bright action, on top, draws inspiration from medicinal little spring twigs. As the cheeseburger pairing fades from memory, the wine's tannins accumulate—they are the most salient mark of its nobility, like devastating seizures of mineral grip. Adhesive acids arrive in time to balance and pump the object with freshness. Threads suggestive of archival sap, mint, and resinated baked soil are wound into an impenetrable spool of promise. This drink is architecture as perfume. 92+
TIME: 24 hours later, after a sensational Pinot Noir from Freiburg, I sense that something has come loose in this item. Like an axle off its bearing. Fig paste. Imposing, voluptuously textured tannins. Nickel rinse pushes against profligate blooms and berries. Heck. I'd call this 90, and still plan to buy another bottle or two.

4/30/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

I wanted to check on this again because my last experience with this wine - February 27, 2022 - was very discouraging. Decanted 30 minutes. Very solid cork, not penetrated by the wine at all. Appropriate pale red hue - hints of browning. Restrained nose of small red fruits / very pleasant. Unexpectedly austere on the palate - more acidic - and without the generous silky fruit one associates with CNP. But this is nothing like as severe as the prior bottle. There is complexity. Herbal notes. Tannins one senses just beginning to settle down after 25 years and integrate into the wine. Ends with a persistent pleasant sweetness. Perhaps there is some bottle variation here. Was better after an hour. I would wait another five or ten years on this. On this showing with time it might even become something very special. Bought on release - and aging slowly. After two hours in the decanter this has softened quite a bit, but will always be a serious and brooding CNP.

5/3/2023 - bevetroppo Likes this wine:

I opened this and was surprised by a somewhat meh initial impression. It took no more than 10 minutes of air to completely blow open the doors of perception. This is a terrific barbera that perfectly straddles the line between sheer drinkability (at 13.5%) and serious contemplation. Better yet, it gets more complex by the minute and rivals a lot of more exalted Piedmont appellations (yeah, I mean you nebbiolo) in the process.

Translucent ruby robe. Within a half hour and with a bit of swirling it's positively "intoxicating" on the nose. Sour cherry, deep raspberry bordering on liqueur that casts a haunting net of sweetness, hints of graphite minerality, a bit of baking spice. Spreads beautifully across the palate, more velvet than is usual in often spikily acid barbera, not that it lacks in that department, with softly concluding tannins.

There's a sense of completeness and harmony that is simply not common in barbera and leaves me with an internal struggle over whether to belt it down with tonight's homemade perciatelli in simple marinara sauce (have you tried the incredible Phillips pasta maker?) or lay about like an opium eater and savor it. Either way you can't lose.

Don't read the following unless you truly have nothing better to do. Those long-time followers of my tasting notes (all 3 of them) know that I often pepper them with cultural references, ranging from Romantic poetry to execrable puns. I've got one so bad and so obscure it's even making me squirm. "Putney says the barbera '16 grape has got to have soul." And this one does. Ok, you were warned.

4/24/2023 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Fairly solid cork - moist almost but not quite to the top. This wine was a complete upside surprise. Still a good red with less brown than you might expect. Nose shows just slight forest floor aromas but also a complex array of small red berries. Fruit flavor on the palate has depth and concentration and real complexity, married to some sweetness and a sensation of oak. Balanced by very correct acid and tannins that are now fully resolved. A little short on the finish. Labelled at 13%, which seems about right. I don’t drink 32 year old Australian Pinot Noir too often, and this was something of a revelation. The more so given Burgundy Al's unflattering note from 2005. Bought in Australia in about 1997, and stored perfectly since, except this went in a steel container through the Panama Canal in 2000. Will hold 5 years more. Sometimes it seems, you just have to wait....
I am not sure how relevant any of this is since it appears pretty much all of this has - understandably - already been drunk.

3/18/2023 - LW31 wrote:

underwhelming. Hot new natural champagne producer. Nice gulp of fruit but otherwise lacking definition and style.

3/6/2023 - bevetroppo Likes this wine:

What do good Burgundy producers have in common with the US Postal Service? All that stuff about neither snow nor rain nor heat etc. Everything I've read about the 2021 vintage makes it sound like all hell broke loose and growers were lucky to emerge with their lives let alone their livelihoods intact. Yet here we are, there is wine to be had, and judging from this bottle, some of it is damn good and even broadly affordable.

Now speaking of the weather, biodynamic (since 1979) pioneer J.C. Rateau is a terrific under-the-radar producer whose careful, nature-based farming probably puts him in as good a position as anyone to deal with the vagaries of the seasons.

This particular wine is a gleaming, attractive garnet cherry color. The nose is terrific even at this early stage, bursting with red berry fruit, black raspberry and cherry. with intimations of forest floor and ferrous minerality. Lively and brisk on the palate, showing lovely fruit and pronounced acid followed by an engagingly dry smoothly tannic finish. Clocks in at a refreshing 13%. Assuming "Les Beaux et Bons" is a lieu dit, it really lives up to its name.

No reason to think it won't improve to one degree or another but boy it sure tastes good now. Outstanding for a Beaune village to say nothing of the annus horribilis.

12/15/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Appropriately pale. Beautifully expressive nose. Already complex and interesting. Balsamic/tar and roses. Medium plus weight. Plenty of fully ripe darker red fruit flavor - especially cherries. Initially tingly acid. Silky smooth texture on the palate. The elegance of Verduno fruit. Structure shows up on the back end with youthful grippy and slightly drying tannin in fair proportion. Good length. Balanced and ultimately quite easy going for so young a Barolo. This is extremely good and although personally I would wait ten years this has considerable early appeal. And a really good value still. To be bought in quantity.

5/21/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

I've been blessed by a few bottles of this vintage of the Baby Jesus over the years and this may have been the best yet. Hauntingly pretty aromatics and a beautiful, mostly resolved palate. Perfumed and spiced on the nose with little whiffs of underbrush, game, and sandalwood. Fine fruit and resolving structure and a luxuriating, lingering finish to the palate. There's splendid inner mouth perfume and a fine bit of the peacock's tail. Bottle courtesy of SH.

1/17/2023 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Given that expectations are the bugaboo of “fine” wine enjoyment, please view this note with that particular jaundiced eye. The name Jamet inspires a lot of emotions for Rhône fans. Benchmark Côte-Rôtie! High premium! Fantastic terroir delineation! Dealing with avaricious distributors (and sometimes importers back in the day). So, what to think about the 2016 Côtes-du-Rhône? The verdict is mixed—at least tonight. Opened an hour in advance of drinking and decanted off (not negligible) sentiment.

The robe is a dark ruby (not purple but hewing that line) with no bricking of note. The nose is a bit stinky upon opening, with reduction, game notes, and a bit of horsy (rather than bandaid-y) brett making itself known. I’ve enjoyed plenty of old Beaucastel, Musar, and Quintarelli, so brett isn’t a deal-breaker, per se; though this is at the outer limits of my tolerance for sure. Black fruits and dried juniper berry appear with some air. Brined peppercorn and cassis notes follow. The palate is mid-weight and has nicely resolving structure, with that black fruit and savory green peppercorn character on the periphery. Tannins are resolving nicely and things are shaded on the herbal rather than opulent side. Still, there’s a bit of heat and an oddly wan core here, that seems to have sacrificed overt ripeness for brett and mouthfeel. And while I won’t say this is flawed, it defies expectations. Hoping this bottle is an outlier, but the next year or two and bottle or two should determine that. By no means undrinkable, but this should offer more given the pedigree and producer.

1/1/2023 - Putnam Weekley Likes this wine:

After a tall drizzle straight into the drinking bowl my first impression of this thing is that it's remarkably composed and primary. An easygoing musky plum aroma, suggestively rising from buried stone, is an example of accessible, appetizing drinking. It unfolds. Even before taking the first drink I'm taken back to Santa Cruz' Bates Ranch, with that maddening mockery of cherry pulp. Also: licorice, Louisiana coffee, and casually foraged spring herbs. A mouthful portrays various familiar lines of tension—glad and guarded; appealing and profound. A geological column of reference material spills from its wide open pages. Balsam. Breakfast tea. Inconsolable red prunes sobbing with sugar. The texture is brisk and punctuated. Retral sensations of intaglio ink, slate, blueberries, and Musigny.

11/24/2022 - Gargantua wrote:

Impressed all who tried--somewhat regal, elegant. This brutally outclassed a Calsac Echappée Belle magnum opened directly afterwards.

11/23/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

In an attempt to revive a joy for Chateauneuf that seems to have deserted me for the last five years I opened this for our dinner the evening before Thanksgiving. Decanted an hour. Beautiful soft red with hints of garnet. Is there some oak on the nose ? Brambly red fruit. Some leafy notes. Herbs. Leather after a few more minutes in the glass. Silky on the palate - similarly flavored beautifully complex fruit - almost austere - framed by quite present acid. Rests confidently on the palate before progressing to an impressively long finish. Ripe but substantial tannin show up on the gums, leaving a slight sensation of dryness. Overall shows more elegance and restraint than I expected though neither does it lack for power. Reassuringly wonderful but in a really serious style. This may in fact be quite special. I find with CNP you need to know what to expect since it comes in so many different styles. I have two bottles left and will try and keep my hands off these another five years. Bought on release.

11/4/2022 - bevetroppo wrote:

This is the second bottle of three I purchased from CSW because, I mean, who can resist the story? No chemicals in the vineyard since something like the 10th century and no sulfur in the past 70 years, with all the other Trappists, I mean trappings, of natural wine farming and elevage (I might break my hand patting myself on the back for that pun).

The first bottle was horribly flawed as only a natural wine can be. This one is a slightly dull, brickish red color. The nose has no overt flaws although there is some VA that could be considered complementary. The aroma is thus slightly sour and winey, supported by fragrant cranberry and pomegranate fruit that was noticeably lacking last time around.

Light to medium on the palate, the fruit is aggressively sour throughout, reminiscent of a sour beer. Ir attains a measure of balance in spite of the acid assault and finishes nicely enough with some attractive earth and ferrous notes, although with time they more resemble the actual flavor of rust.

I kinda like it but it's a touch idiosyncratic if not outright weird, and acid freaks only need apply. Where it goes from here is above my pay grade. It's also possible that I just don't "get" it. To such an assertion I would humbly submit that like the peace of God, it surpasses all understanding.

11/8/2022 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Corked, sigh.

9/30/2021 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

So, it’s really easy to make fun of some folks’ love for Guion Bourgueil Domaine. It’s a Chambers (my place of employment) DI, frugal Loire expert David Lillie loves the farming and the absurdly low price, and they’ve been Bio since before most of you (and me!) were born. A conscientious cheapskate’s trifecta, if ever there was one. But what if it actually was that good? Punchy, herbal, earthy, ripe—but just ripe—with a fine flush of brambly black and red fruit fanning out on the finish? And what if the acid and tannins that lurk beneath the earth notes and fruit signal a bright future for aging? Crazy, right? But that is the case here and I’ll be damned if this isn’t singing with crisped up duck confit, lentils, and arugula with a mustard vinaigrette. Worth well more than the tariff, friends. We can still afford to drink lovely wine.

9/24/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

No decant. Quite dark. At this early stage this wine is entirely informed by its fruit, which is simply the most beautiful expression of meticulously farmed fully ripe syrah. Smoke. Gently ferral - just a little funk on the nose. Dark berries. There must be adequate acid here, because the wine isn't at all flabby, but I didn't notice it. Tannins also are buried in fruit. 14.3%. Correct length but not more - though after an hour this seems to have more persistence. And the thoroughly ripe tannins also do show up on the back end by the second glass, taking up residence on the gums. Everything suggests this needs time - seven years perhaps. A decant might blow off the slight funk (though this persisted to the next day) but the structural components of the wine are so covered in fruit they don't really need it. There is today a softness to the wine because the architecture is so thoroughly covered. This fabulous fruit alone is worth the price of admission and if you want a rush of beautiful ripe young syrah and are Ok with the slight notes of roadkill this is the wine for you. But I would wait, because I always do. My first Monier Perreol.

9/2/2022 - bevetroppo Likes this wine:

This comes a good six days after drinking the wine so take it with a grain of salt. I've been semi-haunted by it and it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote something. Color was on the pale side. Effusive nose of what I think Michael Broadbent used to refer to as "beetroot" pinot fruit. Pure and sweet fruit mingled with developing sous bois on the palate. A cool impression in the mouth, with evident acidity that gave it almost a sweet/sour interplay of flavors.

It was not recognizable as Pommard to me, too light and gentle, but it had a certain ineffable appeal, fresh and with a mountain stream quality. Presumably the magic of the '05 vintage at work here too.

I had to search my notes to find the only other Pacalet wine I've had, which turned out to be an '05 Gevrey 1er Cru I tasted 7 years ago. Interestingly, I was equally confused back then by the distinctive style, but at that time I didn't enjoy it. For my taste, there's a "signature" in these wines. It may or may not be from the winemaker's influence or from "nature" itself, but it seems to come at the cost of terroir, even when the wine conveys a restrained, cool appeal as this did.

8/21/2022 - LW31 wrote:

Hmm, this was a bit underwhelming and quiet. Perhaps a few years past prime? Not off but just subdued even over 2 hrs open.

7/11/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Solid cork, though damp to the very top. Good ruby red. A little woodsy on the nose - with some leather notes - but also delicately expressive of red berries. Complex on the palate. Nothing cedar on this bottle, though the leather is once again present. Some mint. Juicy texture to the fruit. Very red fruited for a Cabernet. Some acid still, giving freshness. Fully resolved tannins - barely perceptible now. Real elegance. Very good length. It was never a powerful wine - and it's precision and delicacy sits completely outside the norm for Australian wine of its time. This is really beautiful. At the beginning of a graceful decline, this is still in a very good place tonight. Bought in Mosman in Sydney at Vintage Cellars - about 1998. Will still keep - though the structural components are now quite slight.

7/7/2022 - LW31 Likes this wine:

Delicious, crunchy deep red fruits. A fun bottle and better with some age. But as ever with the trendy and increasingly pricey natural Burg producers I just don’t get much terroir from them. And the pricing doesn’t make sense … in paris this is like 80 euros which is fine but in the US it’s maybe 50% more or even double

6/9/2022 - bevetroppo wrote:

Don't drink much vinho verde. This seems to be part of a Niepoort project that has various Docil line extensions. It's labeled Loureiro which appears to be the grape variety. That's about all I know going in.

Color a light straw with green highlights. No noticeable signs of fizz. Nose is stony and saline, maybe a little white orchard fruit and some floral overtones. Very pleasant on the palate with saline minerality, under-ripe pear in the middle, and somewhat riper yellow fruit toward the brisk, green-tasting finish. It's not exactly bitter, but not far off either.

Strikes me as a bracing aperitif at 11.5% ABV, probably best with simple uncomplicated food. It actually didn't do all that well with plain sautéed swordfish, which surprised me, as I would have guessed them to be highly compatible. Probably better when they're both fresh and on their native soil.

6/6/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite a bright red. Sweet nose - ripe small berried red fruits - slightly one dimensional - and oak - something of a surprise for 1993. Pleasant herbal notes. There is new oak evident on the palate too, behind which there is perhaps a Pommard of some restraint and serenity. A lot of fruit. Impressively fresh. The tannins are polished by the oak but are undeniably well mannered for a 1993. There is nothing astringent about this. Any rigorous Pommard or vintage character is buried under the cellar treatment. I am not sure I could place this in Pommard either. Fairly represents the choice you make - here is a wine no doubt more appealing to some because of how the elevage has smoothed out the edges of any more "characterful"/less attractive elements - and there is a lot of vibrant fruit still - but as a result it has lost all identity to vineyard and vintage. And why hold it ? This shows that new oak at this level never integrates into the wine - even after almost 30 years. A singe bottle bought on release for an event that never happened. Not for me, as expected.

5/29/2022 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Day one with a couple of hours open, this is a lovely bottle—all berries, cassis, cedar wood, cigar wrapper, and plummy spice on the nose with fine, if rich, texture and plenty of dark fruits and sweet ripeness on the palate with fine-grained tannins and enough acidity to prevent this from veering from velvety to jammy/chocolatey. I’m afraid that day two open reveals the brûléed oak tannins as the fruit and dry extract drop off. Perfectly enjoyable with a bit of air, but I don’t suppose long term balance is here. Not that one should hold on to 2nd wines from Bordeaux beyond 10 or 12 years. That said, if you have a some grass fed lamb chops and a short window for decanting, this is not wholly disappointing. Damning with faint praise here, but I suppose I expect more from Haut Bailly.

5/18/2022 - bevetroppo Likes this wine:

The last time I opened a bottle of this it was a mistake, I misread the label and opened it too soon. This time it was premeditated and in fact I've been planning it for awhile. i am not disappointed. It's beautiful right now, just teetering on the razor's edge between primary fruit and the earliest development of secondary characteristics.

Dark garnet color. Heady nose of Volnay perfume, and I apologize in advance for saying that to me it seems feminine and seductive. There's lovely pinot fruit, ripe red berry and cherry with a soft ferrous, perhaps graphite mineral edge. Soft again on the palate, juicy but still a bit of restraint and the earliest suggestions of earthiness on the balanced, graceful finish. Hard to pick a drink date but 10 years seems fair from here.

5/17/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

This is elegant and lighter than I expected, but has Gevrey flavor qualities in abundance. Enticing nose of flowers and some spice. Flows across the palate easily with silky mouthful and agreeably resolved tannin. Fundamentally quite gentle relative to my expectations but balanced and complex and completely fulfilling if somehow not especially memorable. To my taste lacks a little thrust and insistence, though no shortage of length. Lovely. My only bottle . Ready. Bought on release

5/16/2022 - JohnMcIlwain wrote:

Some nights wines have everything going for them and sometimes it’s a root day, a thunderstorm and Barthod from the Bonnes Mares side of Chambolle. A 1999 to boot. This ranged from sullen and inexpressive to downright misanthropic. One senses there’s plenty of wine there, but maybe another few years in the cellar are in order. Thank you to KB even if this bottle was a bit “stern.”

5/4/2022 - bevetroppo wrote:

So rarely do we even see a bottle of Rossese that it immediately warrants a note just to prove it wasn't a mirage. This is arguably the main red grape of Liguria, where the proximity to the sea tends to favor fish-friendly white grapes like vermentino/pigato and some other native varieties. I believed Rossese is indigenous and not another name for something else, but checking Ian D'Agata's Native Grapes of Italy, I find it is identical to a Provencal red called Tibouren, and both sides fiercely claim it was their's first. As Ian notes, we all have enough other things to worry about.

The wine has a bright light red purple color, very pretty in the glass. The nose is intriguing, full of spice, dark red berries, maybe black cherry?, pepper and herbal scrub notes. It's distinctive, and I'm scratching my head for a good comparison. It's light-bodied on the palate and at first, searingly dry and a touch bitter, to the point where I had to say I wasn't enjoying it. Not tannic, the tannins are somewhat mild, although a bit spiky on the finish. It's almost mean-spirited and I can't tell if it needs air or more time or this is just it's personality. Presuming dolceacqua means "sweet water," it couldn't be further from the truth! I'm going to let it rest overnight and see what's going on tomorrow..

Ok, so we did not have a miraculous conversion. I picked up some bitter orange I hadn't noticed on day 1. There's a fair amount of complexity here but it's so lean on the palate I can't get exited. My friend John might cry "scalped!," a form of cork taint that surgically removes the fruit, but I have no other evidence to support that conclusion. i'll have to try another one to do that and I'm not looking froward to it.

5/2/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

I have to confess upfront I wanted to like this - to validate my having bought ten bottles purely on faith that this terroir ought to be special, given it’s pristine location high on the Fixin slope, aligned with vineyards in Brochon that evidently are very good indeed - such as Gevrey Evocelles and even neighboring Queue de Hareng - and having regard to its historical status. Jeanne-Marie des Champs - who imports the wine into the USA - had told me a few years back to wait on this a while yet. Decanted 30 minutes. Very ruby red. Darkly fruited but restrained nose of some distinction with florals and pleasant savory elements but slightly muddled in composition. Altogether serious and not even aspiring to be pretty. Concentrated ripe cherry fruit on the palate, seemingly a little extracted by todays standards, though this sensation may be amplified by it certainly not yet being relaxed. Seems a little wound up on itself. An inner sweetness. But not (yet) really complex. Lacks a little delicacy and nuance and lift. Well behaved tannin. Long. This wine was made to be a long haul wine and on this showing I remain of the view it is a terroir on which one should take a chance (for the current $95). But it's likely a long wait and don’t expect sparkle or exuberance or pretty aromatics or fireworks. It’s not Griottes-Chambertin. It is a bit sombre and introverted. But it is surely elegant and distinguished and worthy. It got better and better over an hour - some delicacy emerging from behind the curtain. Suggest waiting five more years. Bought on release. Next day - I noticed the level of extraction more. The fruit is dense and a little ponderous. At a tasting in 2022 Joliet conceded he may have extracted a little too much in 2010. But beautiful expression of tannins.

3/20/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Cork marked to within a centimeter of it's top but solid. Still a good red. The most beautiful expression of Vosne-Romanee at 30 years on the nose - elegant small red fruits with complexity. Just a touch of forest floor on the palate now, overlaying detailed red fruits which are ripe but only just and by the second glass there is also a sensation of a little greenness. Silky juicy Vosne texture. Still a little fine grained tannin and enough acid to give a certain resonance in the mouth. Lacks a little length. Even at its venerable age this is very Vosne and a wine of evident merit, as befits its prestigious location in the village. Better I expect ten years ago but still with plenty to offer. Drink soon. Bought on release.

A bottle tasted two years ago had a less impressive cork and some dry tannins.

3/12/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

A fascinating, though certainly unexpected Vieille Serine Domaine de Pergaud from Eric Texier. Given the vintage reputation one might expect a bruiser, a brawler, a blunderbuss pointed menacingly at the face—all structure and sublimated charm. But where are the brutal tannins? The stewed fruits? The heat? If you are expecting that brawn and burliness, best to look elsewhere. That said, the 2015 tickles the palate with ripples of wild berry fruit, aromas of crushed violets and pastilles, with fine-grained (and lurking) tannins, and just a whisper of black pepper and game. And while decidedly mid-weight, this dances about the ring more like a bantam weight: finesse married with sneaky power—punching above its weight indeed. And lest one think it’s insubstantial or lacking gravitas, there’s startling persistence and detail belied by its relative generosity. I suspect there’s a more “serious” wine that will emerge from within, but in the meantime, this was delicious with braised duck legs in red wine with mushrooms, though fresher and less structured than expected. But as they say, it’s always the quiet ones.

3/17/2022 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Quite dark color. Cherries mixed with earth overlayed by present but not overwhelming forest floor aromas. - some oak - all lacking a certain finesse and suggesting an imposing if not rustic palate to come. A little more than medium weight on the palate, with good depth of complex fruit on the darker side of the red spectrum. Very Morey in its flavors. The oak noticeable still. Some gentle sousbois. The fruit sweetened up over an hour. Fine grained tannins - not yet completely resolved. Pretty forthright wine. Though not without interest, it fails to deliver all the detail you would hope for given that Ruchots is surely the finest premier cru in Morey. Very good but not better, which it probably should be given the terroir and vintage. Bought on release.

3/6/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Sometimes curiosity gets the best of you and it’s (kinda) rewarded. Fairly dark robe with some bricking at the meniscus. The nose is awash in Morello cherry, bramble, game, and forest floor, with a flush of brown butter/sugar on the edges. The palate is broad on the attack—it’s ‘06, so I’m not exactly surprised—but has real drive on the mid-palate, though there’s a juicy richness that is a long for the ride. And while this is on the way to resolving, it’s just hinting at tertiary character with the tannins softening and there’s still a bit of the cooperage showing; not distracting, but not completely knit either. Nonetheless, this is very satisfying if not quite ready for the show. Check back in 4-7 years. I’d buy again, but I’d certainly hold longer.

Day 4: This is a completely different and even better wine. Underlying structure is still present, but the nose has unfurled like a magnificent banner and there’s an elemental sweetness (ripeness, not sugar) that has emerged. This has gone from very, very good to excellent. Given how this is showing on day 4, I’d wait 6-8 years before opening. Beautiful bottle that exceeds my expectations. Bravo!

2/27/2022 - JohnMcIlwain Likes this wine:

Muted and a touch aromatically off putting upon opening. But oxygen and a bit of warming in the glass right this. Though it takes a good 20-30 minutes to go from somewhat vegetal/ vaguely Muscadet-like to bright and sea spray fresh with notes of apple peel and Meyer lemon oil and wet stone. The palate similarly gains weight and depth with time in the glass, with salt and stone fruit leading the way, fleshed out by white cherry and golden apple flavors. I suspect this is in something if an awkward phase, as all the pieces are there, if somewhat not quite in harmony yet. Will check back in a year to see how this comes together.

3/20/2019 - champuglia Likes this wine:

Showing so nicely at 9 years old, with a bright bouquet of purple, very purple, fruits. Cassis, plum and blackberry mixes well on the palate with earthier, tobacco leaf notes. Slight spice on the nose almost translates to a hint of gaminess. Fantastic mineral touch develops over the course of the decant, but it translates on the finish to a tannic gripe (not too much). Very nuanced, yet a beautiful portrait of what SLB is all about.

2/19/2022 - bevetroppo wrote:

Don't know what's going on here but it's not good.

The wine is not overtly corked or mousey or consumed by VA. It just tastes bad, sort of metallic and dirty, no discernible fruit, unfocused and essentially unpleasant.

It's an ultra-traditional non-interventionist wine, and when I say ultra- we're talking about recreating the 12th century plus or minus. I've had other wines and vintages from this property and they can be soulful and complex, but this one isn't and since the wine is not cheap, I'm kinda bummed. I kept drinking it bravely over two nights hoping it would improve but no such luck.

1/27/2022 - bevetroppo Does not like this wine:

Look, I'm an outlier and I admit it right upfront. i've generally ignored the whole Gran Selezione thing because I was just getting happy with the many efforts across Chianti to return to something approaching well-made, authentic wines without merlot or some other adulterant and that offer some level of refreshment when this phenomenon hit. No one should be blamed for trying to upsell their patrimony, but clubbing the wines with wood and alcohol just doesn't seem like the right way to go. It's almost like Parker getting the final word after having been repudiated everywhere else people really care about wine.

Case in point in tonight's ungainly 15% wood-embalmed monster. Yes there was some extracted kirsch-driven fruit and spice, and the possibility exists that at some point it will knit together into something Gran for lack of a better word. But it's not what I want in a Chianti Classico no matter what you call it. There's a lot of other refined sangiovese out there with more curb appeal.

This was well loved by Antonio Galloni who knows a lot more about wine and what the public wants than I do. He said: "Black cherry, leather, lavender, espresso and spice all develop effortlessly." i wood if I could.

12/17/2021 - bevetroppo wrote:

I fought this wine to a standstill over two days, mainly because for most of the first 36 hours I thought it was flawed. There was some short bright gamay fruit quickly subsumed by an onslaught of dirt. It wasn't brett or a mineral quality-it was like drinking a mouthful of dirt. You can see where that might be problematic.

On day two, and quite miraculously for an inexpensive gamay-labeled Vin de France, with a very strange Modigliani kind of prominent booty motif on the front label, it seemed to improve, perhaps aided by a full day of refrigeration. The cold knocked down the dirt and the added oxygen sweetened the fruit and even gave it a cocoa edge. It was at that point I spun the otherwise mute bottle around and saw one helpful word on the back-"Loire." But in that inscrutable New France way, the producer was like, ok, if I am stuck with a Vin De France label, you're stuck figuring out what the hell is really going on here.

Turns out "Loire" in this case means, who knows? The producer is ostensibly based in Cheverny and makes a boatload of wines from grapes both grown and purchased. The gamay in question comes from organically farmed 40-year old vines with no sulfur added until bottling. Early thoughts I had that this might just be a bad natural wine weren't completely off base...

But as I hung in there, it occurred to me the dirt was like an amplified version of the attractive slaty quality I experience in some Loire cab franc. Was this a terroir effect, or something else entirely? Since i don't know the answer I'm not going to rate this wine. Like the peace of God, it passeth all understanding.

11/26/2021 - LW31 wrote:

A bit of a bruiser, touch oxidative, medium golden color. Dense fruit. Lacking some necessary energy and excitement. But held up well with early Thanksgiving bites.

10/20/2021 - MuddyBoots wrote:

A wine much liked at the Domaine, this lived up to expectations. High fill. Flavors simply explode on the palate - expanding to all corners of the mouth. Earthy. Mixed red fruits. Some considerable power. A wine of forceful presence on the plate but also complexity and layered detail. Tremendous length. A wine of real vigor still. Everything in balance. Simply excellent. People more experienced with this wine over many vintages said this was an utterly memorable example of why this wine is so iconic in the panoply of fine Burgundy. A much maligned vintage. Will surely keep still a decade or two. Sadly my only bottle. Grey market import to the US. Peter Thurstrup capsule. Bought on release.

10/5/2021 - MuddyBoots wrote:

I believe this wine - which was bought on release - is the wine Nicolas Joly intended it to be. I accept is is not flawed. But by anybody’s reckoning this is not a conventional wine. It is a dry wine made with grapes some (meaningful) portion of which are left to form early stage botrytis. Everything about this wine flows from this. Nicolas Joly believes this level of botrytis is part of the terroir. No note of mine on how any particular vintage is showing or progressing will be helpful. Before making assessments of one vintage over another you have to ask yourself if you like this style. It is pretty binary. Surely not much middle ground here. A wine so different in its definition of what constitutes quality than how common wisdom customarily would define it. I am willing to keep trying Coulee de S in the hope I will one day see the light, but nothing about this wine in vintage 2002 changed my mind. A choice....Bought on release.

9/16/2021 - MuddyBoots wrote:

Cork came out easily but actually only damp to a third of its length. Softly fruited nose of baked dark berries - jammy for sure - borderline stewed. Quite sweet. Vanilla. Some gentle spice. Layered. Similar flavors on the palate which is complex and showing some smokey and vanilla notes (this saw new American and French oak). Medium plus body - the fruit is juicy and ripe but the volume is not excessive. You don't get any sense of unnatural exaggeration. 14.2%. Some gentle acid still. But the tannins fully resolved. Average length, which is not helped by the wine lacking the needed acid level to give it drive on the finish. Ultimately now a soft wine with no hard edges. I liked it more than did my wife. Surely past its best now but still has something to offer if you like it's now complex fruit flavors and are OK with the jammy fruit profile and oak flavors. Questionable provenance (trip through Panama Canal in a steel container)